Everyone, you can file this one under the “FINALLY!” category. Google+ has started rolling out link sharing to external services and apps. I’ll pause here so you can savor the moment….
Up until this point on Google+ when you wanted to share a link, you would only get the link copied to the devices clipboard. You would then have to go to the 3rd party app (email, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, etc) and then tap-and-hold to past a link to the Google+ article you want to share. Not intuitive. Not friendly. Not really helpful.
That, it appears, is changing. Multiple people have posted that they can now use the share menu to share a link directly into other apps on their Android Phone and Android tablets. I have tried it on both my OnePlus One and my Nexus 7 and it is working for me. However, this isn’t out to everyone just yet.
Sharing a link in Google+ is done when you go to an article then tap the menu in the upper right corner of your screen and tap Share…. If you have this feature enabled, you will then get the familiar share dialog at the bottom of the display so you can select which app or service you want to use to share the link. If you do not have it enabled yet, you will simply be able to do what you have always been able to do which is copy the link to the device clipboard.
Google+ Link Sharing
There is no official word from Google on when everyone in Google+ will have this feature enabled but it is clearly rolling out and going unannounced (at least as far as I know – I’ve not seen anything on the Google news feeds on it).
This is a long time coming to Google+ and while the service is slowly being stripped, it is good to know they are still trying to make it functional for those who continue to use it (Clinton raises his hand). I’m personally a big fan of the service as I find it more focused and informative on the subjects I care about over other services.
There is nothing you need to do to the Google+ app on your Android devices to get this new feature. It is something Google is rolling out behind the scenes and when it gets to you, it gets to you. Be sure to check it out though as you may already have it and not know it.
